Modern Ways to Reduce Your Carbon Footprint

“Our house is burning.”  These words ring through and powerful as Greta Thurnberg speaks with heavy intent on the effects humans on the environment and dangers our planet faces.  

The advocacy starts at the top, with many major companies and corporations needing to step up and fight global warming and constant climate change.  But the sole responsibility is not on just them, but everyone. We can all do our part, and we will have to as the days run dangerously close to the point of no return. In the modern day, it is easy to forget to do our part, or we think we are doing enough so we forget to keep a mindful account of our actions and what can be done better or improved. 

These tips and guidelines that will help educate and remind ourselves of things you can do to reduce your carbon footprint.

Save energy

Turn your lights off when you leave a room.  Sure, this might not matter in the short run and you might not see it as having a huge effect, but being mindful of the energy you use can help reduce that carbon footprint.  Finding little ways to save energy may lead you to looking into other alternatives and measure you can save on things like electricity and energy.

Changing your home

Turning out a light here and there is one thing, but when you become serious about changing your home to become more environmentally friendly, you’ll have so many options to do so. These include things like energy saving bulbs, window strips to keep cool or warm air in and from escaping, fixing or installing low water usage faucets, timers for appliances, and even changing your energy supplier with these various options. There are many things that can be done to make your home more energy efficient in a matter of minutes.  Our team will turn your kitchen into the heart of your home where form meets function. Learn more at kitchen remodel Sacramento.

Hybrid or electric

Driving is one of the biggest culprits contributing negatively to the daily rate of carbon dioxide entering the atmosphere. There are companies like Tesla doing their part to bring environmentally friendly options to what has now become a necessity for many commuters. Driving environmentally friendly cars will cut down on the amount of gasses we release, not just driving, but sitting in traffic.

Drive less

If you can cut down on the driving all together, whether that’s by walking, biking, or taking public transport, the benefits would magnify tenfold.  Not only will you be cutting down on your emissions, but you’ll also be taking up one less vehicle on the road. Sure, a single vehicle may not matter much, but the more people that find alternative travel routes, the less traffic. That ultimately means less emissions from everyone.  Not to mention the personal health benefits of riding a bike to work or around your town. Many cities and towns have redesigned their infrastructure to be more accommodating of bicycles with their own lanes.

Drive differently

If you are choosing to drive, you can make some small changes to your habits to reduce your emissions. More frequent accelerating and braking will for you to use more gas. Driving at a less sporadic rate can help cut down your carbon footprint but also save you money on fuel as well.

Eat less

Eating less food, particularly meat can help reduce your carbon footprint as the amount of gasses produced from all the animals, and the resources put into the process of producing you foods is very high.  Creating a meal plan to reduce the amount you consume in terms of non meals and snacking, can have benefits to your own health in addition to helping the environment.

Cut down on waste

In addition to eating less, you’ll want to make sure you are eating the foods you purchase and using as much of it as possible during your preparation processes.  By doing this, you limit food waste that is a negatively contributing factor to dumps around the world.

Recycle

They always tell you about the three R’s in school.  Reduce, reuse, recycle. They are important, but they don’t always educate you on how to properly recycle.  Recycling plastic is as easy as checking for the recycle logo/triangle and checking for the number inside it.  This will give you the information on if an item can be recycled or not. But it is surprising how many people are unaware of this.

Buy less

In a consumerist world and age we live in, one of the best ways to reduce your carbon footprint is to spend less on things you don’t need. Cutting out the clutter and living a little more minimalistically, focusing on your needs, will greatly cut down on the size of your footprint.  

Even with all these suggestions, remember to keep in mind the reducing your carbon footprint can be a long process, especially if you are not used to it yet.  It will take time to make that adjustment. Going little by little, you’ll get there. But you have to start now, because there’s no waiting to put out this fire.